Biden calls Netanyahu’s handling of war a ‘mistake’ (File)
Tel Aviv, Israel:
Israel was on alert on Thursday after arch-enemy Iran threatened retaliation for an attack in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals and a war against Hamas in Gaza.
Days after Israel beefed up its air defenses and suspended combat troops from taking leave, the United States also warned of possible attacks by Iran or its allies amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Iran was “threatening a major attack against Israel” and pledged “irresistible” support for its largest regional ally, despite diplomatic tensions over Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Israel has been widely blamed for the April 1 attack that destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that Israel “must and will be punished,” days after one of his advisers said the Israeli embassy was “no longer safe.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Katz quickly responded to Khamenei on the social media website X, saying, “If Iran launches an attack from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran.”
Biden said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “our commitment to Israel’s security and defense against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.”
“Let me say it again – stand firm. We will do whatever it takes to protect Israel’s security.”
The Axios news website reported that Michael Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, will visit Israel to discuss the situation with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Moscow previously warned Russian citizens not to travel to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and later called on Iran and Israel to exercise restraint.
“It is very important for everyone to exercise restraint so as not to destabilize the region, which is not inherently stable or predictable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Lufthansa said it had suspended flights to and from Tehran “due to the current situation in the Middle East” and may continue until Thursday.
Israel and the United States have long been at odds with Iran and the so-called “axis of resistance” alliance in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
The attack in Syria killed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the Quds Force’s overseas operations in Syria and Lebanon.
‘Children’s Panic’
Israeli data shows that the Gaza war broke out after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,170 people, mostly civilians, and exacerbating regional tensions.
The Palestinian organization Hamas has also taken about 250 hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza, 34 of whom the Israeli army said were dead.
Iran said it had no prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack but welcomed the attack against a decades-old enemy.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,545 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled region’s health ministry.
The Israeli military reported that its navy and air force conducted overnight operations in central Gaza “to neutralize terrorists.”
In Gaza’s Nuseirat district, 39-year-old Imad Abu Shawish said: “The situation is serious and getting worse, the bombing has not stopped and is still happening.
“We heard the sound of the missile landing near us before exploding, which caused panic among my children and other family members.”
Much of Palestine has been reduced to a wasteland pockmarked by bombs, with buildings destroyed and more bodies buried beneath the rubble.
The Israeli siege has deprived Gaza’s 2.4 million people of much of their food, water, fuel and medicine, with only sporadic aid deliveries easing dire shortages.
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, said on Wednesday that Hamas was “defeated” militarily but pledged to continue fighting “the remnants of Hamas” in the coming years.
An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar.
Haniyeh’s brother Nasheed told AFP in Gaza that their family was “in the same situation” as other Gazans.
“There is no difference between the son of a leader and the son of the people,” he said.
Haniyeh insisted that his son’s death would not affect Hamas’s position in ongoing talks in Cairo over a possible temporary ceasefire and agreement to release hostages.
Those talks began on Sunday, but there has been no breakthrough on a plan proposed by U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators, which Hamas said it was studying.
A framework plan would halt fighting for six weeks, exchange about 40 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and deliver more aid.
“Now it’s up to Hamas to take action on the proposals that have been made,” Biden said.
“Destabilizing the Middle East”
Washington has also stepped up pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire, increase aid flows and abandon plans to invade the territory’s southernmost city of Rafah.
Some 1.5 million civilians have taken refuge in Rafah, the last Gaza city not yet facing a ground invasion.
Biden called Netanyahu’s handling of the war a “mistake” in an interview that aired Tuesday.
Galante pledged that Israel would provide “substantial assistance to Gaza” using Israeli crossings, simplified inspections and two new routes organized in partnership with Jordan.
He said they expected 500 aid trucks to enter Gaza every day, which was the pre-war average.
Israel has faced unanimous international criticism for its handling of the war.
Several Western countries, including Ireland and Australia, have said Spain would recognize a Palestinian state in the near future as a starting point for wider peace talks.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that Israel’s “disproportionate response” in Gaza could “destabilize the Middle East and therefore the entire world.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
